Weight Loss News and Current Events - Why Snack Packs Don't Work

http://www.modernforager.com/blog/2008/09/15/why-snack-packs-dont-help-you-lose-weight/

This is from one of the diet and fitness blogs I read. It kind of echos my thoughts on the whole "snack pack" thing.

This is also something that I think about a lot with these snack pack types of things:
smaller packages are not designed to keep you from eating as much. They are designed with the main purpose of increasing the “value add” of the food in the package, enabling the manufacturers to charge more than twice as much for the same product.

Anyway, just thought it was interesting and wanted to share.

.

Not that I'm an oreo fan, but I loved this quote from the blog.

Actually, here’s an interesting fact: it’s not even the same food. The Oreo packs for instance aren’t even real Oreos. They are filled with just the wafer cookies with no cream. If you’re going to splurge and eat an Oreo, at least eat a real Oreo complete with the cream. Make your cheats worth it and eat a diet of real foods such that you keep hunger at bay.

Novel idea, to eat a diet of real foods and then when you do splurge, splurge on something worthwhile. I've been doing this for quite some time now.

I've never been a fan of 100-calorie snack packs. This is how I've always viewed them, 1. they're WAY too expensive and 2. they've never sounded terribly appetizing to begin with.

You know, maybe there is something different about me. Because, no matter what studies say about the average person, I never once opened another 100 cal snack pack after eating one. Of course, I used them in moderation, as a treat, without making them a part of my daily dietary plan. But I make liberal (nightly) use of portion controlled ice cream treats in the 100-150 calorie range, and again, I rarely if ever feel even the desire to eat more than one, and I don't think I ever actually have.

I wonder if this is like the "artificial sweeteners increase cravings" study...true on the whole/average, but not true for some significant portion of people?

For me, I know that when I DO have a snack-pack-type food around, I have one heck of a lot more self control with it than I do with an open package of whatever junk food it is representing/imitating. I've also found that, if I DO somehow resist the temptation of an open package, whatever portion I've left uneaten goes bad (evidenced by boxes of sugary cereal, half used in a recipe, of which I had one bowl of the remainder as a dessert and then allowed to go stale and threw away). So while the food manufacturing companies may want me to buy more product with the 100-cal packs, for me at least, their ploys aren't working. I eat fewer of these foods than I would otherwise, and I actually keep from wasting some because the packages are all individually sealed.

I also know that, when I first embarked on this lifestyle change, the 100-cal packs were a lifeline. I remember the panic (PANIC) at the idea that I'd have to give up Fudge Stripe cookies forever. But there was a 100-cal pack of them, and I had those and counted the calories and moved on. Sure, I used LESS of the packs as I increased my focus on nutrition and started looking at more functional foods, but they were a "bridge" for me.

The author makes an excellent point about 5-10% of your calories coming from junk food not being so great...and that's definitely the case (although again, for some it may be worth it, ie me and my ice creams). But if you're eating 2 packs a week, for example, that's about 2% of your intake, and honestly, if 98% of your intake comes from healthy foods and 2% from snack packs, you're probably doing REALLY well, though I've found that one can always strive toward "better" in the nutrition front, as there is always something to be tweaked and improved upon.

So I'd agree that snack packs don't work for all people, for all the reasons stated. I don't think its true they don't work for anyone, or that they can't be a component of a healthy eating plan over the long term if they are used in moderation and tracked in with the rest of your intake. I'd be interested to see more research on this topic as it comes out though...I'm "weird" in lots of ways that the research doesn't predict, and it always fascinates me to see what the differences are.

I actually do think it's more about what works for individuals and I can totally see that someone who has serving size issues would be much more comfortable with individually packaged snacks where there's no chance that you'd say "oh, I'll have just one more cookie" or "oh just a few more chips".

I *personally* don't think they're a good idea for a variety of reasons and I think a good goal would be to wean off of them as soon as you can ....

But I do admit that they work for some people as long as you're not eating 3 or 4 of them a day! :)

Mostly I just used the title of the blog post for the thread title ...

.

The snack-pack concept has worked for me for the same reason Lean Cuisine meals and their ilk have been helpful--I've learned about portion control. I was reluctant to open another snack-pack bag, so it helped to put the brakes on my eating.
However, I've adapted the snack-pack thing to make it more economical. I put @100 calories worth of whatever I bought in bulk (usually crackers or pretzels) in small plastic baggies. These bags are reused, keeping the cost and waste down, and it still helps me keep portion size in mind. I plan on doing this for the foreseeable future.

I'm the type that will open another pack, so I just don't keep them around. Once in a blue moon I will buy a single snack pack, but I always keep in mind that if I'm going to cheat it is going to be worth it.

I started out the diet process with a lot of 100 calorie packs, I used to stack my desk drawer at work with them, and would refill every couple of months or so. This was well before i started counting calories, I was just trying not to eat as much during the work day and thought the packs were a good idea. I wandered away from them, because I always ate two or three of them at a time, but came back when I started counting calories. In the last few months I've moved away from them again. I just looked in my drawer and the ones I have are expired already, or expire soon. I can't remember the last time I bought them.

They were helpful at the beginning of the calorie counting process, though. I could say with confidence how many calories and fat I was eating at one sitting, and I needed at least one thing I was sure about at the beginning...

I just bought a box of those Le Petit Ecolier butter cookies with the chocolate on top - at this point I would much rather have an occasional cookie indulgence that is really good than a 100 cal pack of something that seems a little empty. :)

Right now, since I'm new to all this again, I am using single serving packs. The 100 calorie packs are great for monitoring my food intake, since I haven't been for a while and need to refailiarize myself with proper portion control.

It's the same with Lean Cuisines, etc. I can better monitor calorie intake when it's printed on the box. When I'm further along in my journey, these types of foods will become more occasional rather than a staple for me, except my single serve frozen veggies-they are too convenient to give up, especially for my snacks at work!

:carrot::broc::carrot::broc::carrot::broc::carrot:

If I had more than one snack pack around, it wouldn't be any different than having a whole regular package. But now that I'm this far into it, I think I can actually have something around the house and not eat it too much or too often.

I just bought a couple items like that for the first time since starting this (Trader Joe's Triple Ginger Snaps and Whole Wheat Pretzel Sticks). And I'm actually not feeling worried about doing anything but using them the way I intend. That is such a nice feeling. 'Cause I realized how much I was missing crunch :).

Personally, I love the snack packs. I've tried losing weight before and it seems that this time I've had the most success, while staying healthy. I love them for work. Before, I'd usually hit up the vending machine around 10:30am and/or 3pm. Now I keep a couple different types of 100 cal packs in my desk. When I buy them, I only buy the ones on sale and I only buy one package of sweet and one of salty. I think it's great - at least for starting out when you're calorie counting.

They're definitely overpriced, but the portion control help I received from snack packs was a big factor in my losing 110 pounds, and I imagine they'll help me to take off the baby weight now.

I had recently read in prevention magazine a study that was done where there were 2 groups. One group was given snack packs and one group was given full size bags of various items. The group with snack packs actually ate more than the group given the full size bags.

That would be me. I can easily eat multiple 'portions' and opening up another bag/wrapper, doesn't stop me.

One snack pack, of sorts, that I have used a couple times, was those mini cups of Haagen Daaz. Expensive, yes, but a carton of ice cream in my freezer would have been more expensive to my hips, if you know what I mean ;). And not indulging a bit could have become expensive to my hips too! I really enjoyed those, I think I got the super rich chocolate. But I never bought any to keep at home, I knew that wouldn't work ;).

When I first began, snack packs were a great thing for me. I'd just grab one to take to work.

I stopped buying the "whole" box, because my problem with the whole box... especially white cheddar chees-its... was that the whole box was my serving. Very frequently.

In the beginning, if I grabbed two or three snack packs, I was not doing the same amount of damage that the entire box was.

I have to say that I had to transition away from snack packs of many kinds, and many small bar things like special k bars... I still eat too many. And while in the beginning "too many" was less than I was used to and therefore helped, now "too many" is WAY too much for the body I have.

They were a great starting place for me, personally.

One snack pack, of sorts, that I have used a couple times, was those mini cups of Haagen Daaz.

YES! I don't like snack packs because I don't find them satisfying and I don't crave a lot of that stuff to begin with, but the little cups of ice cream are heaven-sent. I can easily polish off a pint of Ben and Jerry's Strawberry Cheesecake, but since I discovered that they make little cups of them I am happy to say I am PINT-FREE! :D

To read most weight loss studies, it sure seems that "nothing" works, and I think I know why.

It's as if they were trying to find a "cure" for a generic symptom like a headache, or a sore throat - and the reason they can't find a cure, is because the symptoms might be the same, but the diseases that cause them are all different.

There still aren't alot of diet studies that study the differences between people trying to lose weight, instead they lump everyone together. The person wanting to lose five pounds, 50, or 200 (no matter how long they've been trying), the person who has been morbidly obese since childhood, the person who gained weight in midlife or after retirement...

And not are we all overweight to a different degree, and a different length of time, we all have different eating choices, eating triggers, trigger foods, exercise patterns.

It's no wonder that "nothing" works, because the population is too different to compare one person to another, and the number of people for whom "it" whatever it is being studied, does work - they get lost in the shuffle. It's too small a group to be noticed among all the people "it" didn't work for.

Since the field, for the most part, isn't trying to study the differences between different "kinds" of people attempting to lose weight, we're stuck doing our own experiments on ourselves. It's not good "science," but it's really the only option right now.

Snack packs mess with my head. The whole 'just one more. its only 100 cals' is what gets me.

I would rather buy the box, divide it up and make my own snack packs. If I can grab and go I don't tend to munch and entire box does not fit in my car to well or my purse for that matter LOL

I do make up snack packs of good foods, baggie of grapes, celery, baby carrots etc so when I want to munch there is not thinking involved just grab a baggie

mandalinn82
You know, maybe there is something different about me. Because, no matter what studies say about the average person, I never once opened another 100 cal snack pack after eating one. Of course, I used them in moderation, as a treat, without making them a part of my daily dietary plan.
I'm with you on this one! I do buy 100 cal packs and look at them the same way, as a treat. I also keep the Mini Delights at home for a treat. I also have never opened more then one. Not that I don't want more or couldn't eat more, I could! But I see them as a treat and know that I am only allowed one as a treat. I think anymore then that is along the lines of binging for me. If I have the extra cals left for a day & I want something sweet, I will have either a 100 cal pack or a mini delight. They fill my craving for something sweet and are not too bad as far as treats go.

The problem for me with the snack packs is that they're usually processed / junk type foods. Those kind of things make me want MORE, even when I don't particularly like them. That is just nuts. OTOH, with something very high quality, even high in fat and/or sugar, I find it much easier and more satisfying after a smaller portion. It really weirds me out the way junk makes me want more even when it's not that tasty.

The problem for me with the snack packs is that they're usually processed / junk type foods. Those kind of things make me want MORE, even when I don't particularly like them. That is just nuts. OTOH, with something very high quality, even high in fat and/or sugar, I find it much easier and more satisfying after a smaller portion. It really weirds me out the way junk makes me want more even when it's not that tasty.

That's my thought on them as well. I'd so much rather *spend* my 100 calories on something with a little more nutritional oomph (and that's not going to leave me fighting with myself over whether I'm still hungry or not). I'm much happier and more satisfied with a cup of diced, fresh pineapple than with a couple of cookies.

They are overpriced, but I need the portion control. If I have a whole box of cheez-its in the house, I'll eat the whole thing, but I can keep myself to just one 100 calorie pack.

Personally, I don't over-indulge when I have my 100 calorie packs. If there's a bag of chips I'll definitely eat more then if I have the amount I am allowed to eat counted out for me. I don't know why. I'd sometimes eat two bags a day but it definitely was not one after the other. It'd be one in the afternoon and then one in the evening. I bought a bag of oreos recently and found myself eating 5 of them which is 250 calories as opposed to the serving size of 3 which is 150 calories. Yikes!

For some reason I'll keep eating if a bag is already open. But if I know I have to go and open a new bag I'll just feel really guilty. And that's why I love the 100 calorie packs.

Though, I'll admit, since they are pricey I've been making my own recently with dry special k cereal, popcorn, etc.

I'm much happier and more satisfied with a cup of diced, fresh pineapple than with a couple of cookies.

The other day I had a generous bowl of applesauce (chunky / unsweetened) with a bunch of cinnamon. Could not believe how good it was. :)

I can't bring myself to buying 100 cal packs just because it'd be like opening a can of worms. I don't know if I would have the control to stop at one, therefore I will not tempt myself. And considering i allow myself one treat a day to be had after dinner, there are normally other things that are far more tempting. Like a couple biscuits with my tea, or a 1/2 cup of ff ice cream, or 4 oz of red wine.

The concept of snack packs is great though. Pre-portioning everything I eat is my ultimate success tactic. It's the quickest and easiest way to stay healthy when you're planning your day.

The snack-pack concept has worked for me for the same reason Lean Cuisine meals and their ilk have been helpful--I've learned about portion control. I was reluctant to open another snack-pack bag, so it helped to put the brakes on my eating.
However, I've adapted the snack-pack thing to make it more economical. I put @100 calories worth of whatever I bought in bulk (usually crackers or pretzels) in small plastic baggies. These bags are reused, keeping the cost and waste down, and it still helps me keep portion size in mind. I plan on doing this for the foreseeable future.

I would rather buy the box, divide it up and make my own snack packs. If I can grab and go I don't tend to munch and entire box does not fit in my car to well or my purse for that matter LOL

I do make up snack packs of good foods, baggie of grapes, celery, baby carrots etc so when I want to munch there is not thinking involved just grab a baggie

I like doing this too - I buy in bulk and then repackage into serving sizes. That way when I want a few crackers or a snack I cansinply grab a baggies out of the cupboard and know it is a "proper" serving.

I can't bring myself to buying 100 cal packs just because it'd be like opening a can of worms. I don't know if I would have the control to stop at one, therefore I will not tempt myself.

I bought two boxes of snack packs a while ago - because they were on sale!! What a silly reason. I regretted. When I ate the first snack pack, I had to have another one - even though I did not particularly liked it. I just had to continue eating.
The second box is still sitting in my car, with half of the snack packs still there. It is not anything I will again. It really makes me want to continue eating, and I would although I am not a calorie counter I would much rather each something healthier - e.g. hummus with veggies. The snack packs just provide carbs and I would rather get healthy carbs from fruit, milk, whole grains, etc.

The concept of the snack pack really appeals to me - especially with young children. The thing that I do not like about them is that the food is hyper-processed, unhealthy food. The other day I found a snack pack of hummus and fresh veggies....now that is what I call a snack pack! A snack that will actually tide one over for more than 10 minutes. The 100 calorie packs are still 100 empty calories and I would much prefer to ingest 100 calories of something that is actually going to do something for my body.

That being said, I do have a few packages of Late July peanut butter cracker sandwiches in my glove compartment for when an appointment takes longer than it was supposed to or when DS get that famished look in his eye. I don't think they are 100 calorie packs, but they are really convenient.

I saw two boiled eggs packaged up together at the supermarket. Talk about paying for convenience.

I'm with Kim - yeah they're overpriced. but I buy them because they give me portion control and that extra check when I want to mindlessly eat. One 100 cal pack causes significantly less damage than one box of cookies. I think I will always be the sort of person that can eat a box of cookies in one sitting - I cant eat just one oreo and not go back to the box but with the packs I get the mental click of emptying the package. I have to guard my habits daily. These packs are a treat when I want to eat something worse - which is often.

I go through a box or two of these things every two weeks - and it's worth it. It works for me so I'll keep doing it.

I like a snack pack every now and then. I don't eat them often and therefore i don't have to buy them often. They are rather costly. But i like to have them in my desk drawer at work in case i get a craving or i didn't have any snacks to bring to work. And i am definatly one of those people who would have trouble with portion control if i had a full size bag of something but i will only open one snack pack a day.

Right now, I’m a big fan of anything portion controlled. I’m a busy girl & sometimes stress gets to me & I just want a “fix”. The personal sized ice creams & some of the 100 cal deals always do it for me.

I probably have 1-2 daily, but I make sure to meet all of my good health guidelines before getting into anything “junkie”. It just helps me to know that if I have a craving there is something quick & easy on hand to take care of it.

I do think they are too expensive. My goal someday is to just buy the real deal & portion it out as soon as I get home from the grocery store. Hmmm…….maybe I’ll make this a goal for next week’s shopping trip. They really are kind of a rip off when you could do it yourself.

I think I just changed my own mind :)

“I do make up snack packs of good foods, baggie of grapes, celery, baby carrots etc so when I want to munch there is not thinking involved just grab a baggie”

I do this too Nancy! I always make sure to have some ready in my fridge at work & at home. Helps to make good choices easier.

I started making my own - it's more economical, and I want to eat real things too. I don't want to eat artificial things.

I agree with Diary, I make my own. I like knowing I'm not eating processed stuff. I feel doing my own packaging, I know what I am getting, and am not getting alot of extra sugar and 'stuff.' I know it's really convenient when busy, but I just make myself take a few minutes on Sunday and prepare days ahead.

I have to admit some of the pre-packaged stuff is realy tasty, but then I end of eating more than one! :( So, doing my own and keeping the other out-of-the-house helps me stay on track.

Sandy

blog = www.mygritsconfessions.com